What they said: Michael Allen

Q. So now you try to do it again this week. I'm sure you had some of your colleagues out there ask you why, why even bother with this TOUR.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah.

Q. Any of them say that to you, like, hey, why don't you just take it easy and play out here on the Champions Tour??

MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, you know, a lot of guys on the Champions Tour kind of wonder because it's a lot of fun out there. And after the way I played today, I'm probably moving that way anyhow. It wasn't a very good day.

Q. But obviously you have some want to in terms of wanting to play with these guys, too.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah.

Q. The fact that you would come all this way and put yourself through this.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah.

Q. Why is that? Is it

MICHAEL ALLEN: I mean really for me, you know, I love playing out here. There's so many wonderful golf tournaments out here, you know, that I really enjoy, I've played for so many years.

You know, it's like this TOUR I know the tournaments, too, you know. Out there everything's kind of new to me. I've only played so many of them. So I mean for me and I still haven't won out here. That's the one thing I want to do. I want to be able to finish my career and say I won, so I need more opportunities to do that.

I mean that's the main reason. And I still feel like I can play out here. You know, if I played full time, a little more out here, I could have done it. I'm awfully close, obviously, but you know, it's something I'd love to be able to do, and I'd love to be able to win out here. That's my driving factor really for me is I just want that opportunity to win out here.

Q. Was there any difficulty in juggling the two? I mean I know you played more out here, but any difficulty in, you know, trying to manage your schedule and say, hey, not over doing it, because you could play almost every week.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Exactly. And it has been difficult. You know, my legs are tired as can be right now, and it shows in my golf.

I took 10 days off before I went to San Francisco. I withdrew from Las Vegas on Thursday because I just was terrible. And I kind of feel that way again. You know, it's hard. I usually play about 23 to 25 events, and this year, this is my 31st or 32nd event. So you know, it's a lot, and I'm not any younger. I'm 51 years old and playing more than I ever have in my whole life. I think what we really need is more carts on the Champions Tour, I think. That makes it easier on me.

Q. You said you've played more than your whole life. You're probably also playing maybe better than you have in your whole life, or have in the last few years. What turned around? What happened there, in your late 40s, I guess.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah. I mean the big thing for me was after I quit for a while, No. 1 was perspective, how great a job this is, and what a neat opportunity we have to go and do something we love doing.

Q. Right.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Which you know, you go out in the real world and try to make a living, it's not easy. I certainly found that out. No. 1, the perspective.

No. 2, I worked with this guy Mike Mitchell has really helped change my game so much over the years, so he's been a great part of it. Not only the swing help, but also just his enthusiasm and stuff for the game has been incredible. It's like it's all right to feel that way.

So I think those are the main factors for the most part, you know, and for some reason now I'm just enjoying it. I'm not really you know, days like this are tough, but I'm enjoying the game and I'm enjoying competing, and I love playing well and getting in those last few groups, it's been really a blast over the last few years.

And before, I was a little afraid of it, I think, and now I'm just really enjoying the time I get there.

Q. I know you don't want to think about this, but if you did fall out of the Top 125, what happens then? Do you just try to go by whatever your number is and get as many as you can or do you think more Champions Tour?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I'm just going to play you know, I've been working my way toward the Champions Tour. It's obviously someplace I can make a good living for the next five, eight years anyhow.

You know, it is something I don't want to really think about too much, because I'm right in the midst of it. You can't kind of let yourself down like that. But after bogeying the last two, I'm like, it looks like the Champions Tour.

One thing I want to do out here is I want to play well and keep my card so I can play at TPC and the Quail Hollows, the Hilton Heads, all those great tournaments. If I'm not in the 125, you know, just playing the little satellite events are really not what I'm kind of in it for. But we'll see how it goes.

But I really want to I love the Hilton Heads of the world. These weeks are so great out here. You know, you're playing golf. That's about as good as it gets. Great golf courses, they treat you nice, give you good food, and it's a great time.

So you know, that's it'll be hard to come out here and just kind of, you know, go play the little satellite events on this thing, so I'll see how it goes, but you know, after today, it looks like the Champions Tour.